KTT Case Study: Delivering Expert Advice and Problem-Solving Resources to Field Crop Producers
Summary
Project partners developed the website and resource archive www.fieldcropnews.com to assist OMAFRA extension staff and the University of Guelph in delivering expert advice to field crop producers as needed and in season. In six years, the site has reached 100,000+ page views and continues to grow. This advice helps producers understand and respond to time-sensitive issues, including the effect of weather on crops, pests, and soil fertility. The website’s archive of relevant research allows staff to respond to information requests quickly and effectively, and can also be accessed directly by producers and other stakeholders.
Knowledge Translated and Transferred (KTT)
Through the development of the online archive, this project provided a way to access, update and deliver research and information for field crop stakeholders in a time-sensitive (“just-in time”) way.
The website also functions as a forum for producers, researchers and industry personnel to share information and ideas. “I think that diversity [of ways to access resources] is critical, and knowing we can address different levels on the spectrum [of audiences]. This site obviously helps farmers directly, but we are also thinking a lot of the actual advisers [and] also people who work for different companies or other employees of the ministry.” Prof. François Tardif, University of Guelph
Path to impact
How KTT Can Enhance and Support Production Systems for Field Crop Farmers in Ontario
- Target FAQs with available evidence and resources. Collaborators on this project gathered available evidence and resources that would help OMAFRA to answer commonly asked questions from field crop producers.
- Translate content for different audiences. The project team used professional videographers to create video reports on 10 OMAFRA-University of Guelph research projects related to field crop production, and hired professional writers to create newsletters, articles for other publications and information and fact sheets for each of the University of Guelph field crop production research projects. The project team worked with an IT vendor to create a database to store and deliver online multimedia content, with options for user generated content submissions and social media connections.
- Make a communications plan. Team members developed a marketing and communications plan to maximize awareness and uptake of these KTT products, as well as new knowledge produced by OMAFRA-U of G field crop production research projects.
- Plan for longevity. Due to site popularity among government, non-profit and field crop industry users, sustainability and support has not been an issue. The OMAFRA crop technology team has covered day-to-day site responsibility and most content development, and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association supported a website refresh.
Website providing up to-date knowledge resources has reached 100,000+ views
This resource supports the more than 8.5 million acres of field crops in production in Ontario. Field crop producers often urgently need access to relevant information. Now in its seventh year, the site www.fieldcropnews.com provides an on-line archive and delivery system for timely field crop production information.
The site contains research resources, tools and experiential knowledge materials to assist producers and other stakeholders. This resource also functions as a forum where producers, researchers and industry personnel can share information and ideas. This site was designed to be accessible and open to revision by registered users in real time. 2,600 visitors were logged during the first month of operation, with 25,700 visitors by the end of the first year. During peak in-season periods, up to 10,000 visitors are logged monthly
Positive impacts
Economic Benefit From an Online Resource Website
This site creates economic benefit by bringing high-quality research evidence to producers. Producers use the site as a primary source when issues arise that could impact their farm businesses. The number of visitors is continuing to grow at a significant rate, demonstrating how useful this site is to the community.
Highlighting best practices in KTT for agri-food and rural research
Best practice 1: Plan for the entire project process (and beyond)
This project was a success because it was very well-planned. The overall project plan was supplemented by a specific marketing and communications plan designed to raise awareness about the site, connect with site users and learn about user experiences. By building in time for changes and welcoming feedback, the site team was able to optimize user experiences and meet the needs of producers, the OMAFRA crop technology team and U of G faculty.
“We had a vision—let’s build something—and we worked with a vendor, we put it out there and then said now we are open to constructive feedback. We could see early on how people were using the site, and for the first two years we just got feedback and changed it to make things easier and more user friendly.”
Mike Cowbrough, crop technology team, OMAFRA
Best Practice 2: Maintain fresh and relevant content for a variety of audiences
Content development for resource websites requires time and investment in capacity. By starting with professional support for content creation, encouraging peer-to-peer collaboration in the site forums and working to develop capacity among new crop technology team members in OMAFRA, the site administrators have found ways to maintain fresh and relevant content.
About this report
The Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance is committed to “getting science off the shelf” to support a thriving agri-food sector and vibrant rural communities. This series of reports highlights the impact of research funded through the Alliance and illustrates best practices for enhancing research impact through knowledge translation and transfer (KTT). Many thanks to Prof. François Tardif (University of Guelph) and Mike Cowbrough (OMAFRA) for participating in interviews about the impacts of this project
Enhancing the KTT of Field Crop Production Information to Ontario Growers.
